MXPA99010038A - Extrude decorative article and method to make it my - Google Patents

Abstract

An extruded article having a core member and a decorative surface member, wherein the decorative surface member has at least two flat decorative surfaces, wherein each of the flat decorative surfaces is oriented in different planes. The method includes coextruding the core member and the decorative surface member to form the art.

Description

EXTRUDED DECORATIVE ARTICLE AND METHOD TO DO THE SAME BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to substrates and methods for making said substrates. In another aspect, the present invention relates to construction materials and methods for making said materials. In still another aspect the present invention relates to decorative building materials and methods for making said materials. Still further, in another aspect, the present invention relates to extruded decorative building materials and methods for making said materials. In still another aspect, the present invention relates to prefabricated bar and splashback coverage units, and methods for making such materials. In still another aspect, the present invention relates to decorative materials extruded having decorative surfaces in different planes, and to methods for making said materials. Still further in another aspect, the present invention relates to integral cover units for backsplash / backsplash, and to methods for making such units. 2. Description of Related Art In many cases, the toppings bar for kitchens are usually installed at the construction site of the house, with a backsplash then added to the wall after installing bar coverage. This two-step installation process is intense in work. The seam between the two pieces can not be hidden, only reductive to the minimum, if the materials are decorative laminates. In the case of solid surface forming materials, an experienced installer can make the seam appear seamless, but the seam is of great work and no weak spot occurs between the backsplash and bar coverage. Although some prefabricated units cover bar and backsplash are available, usually these are assembled by combining a cover bar and backsplash together in a somewhat laborious process. There is a need for a comprehensive preformed cover for kitchens and rear splash, which can be easily installed. There is a further need in the art for a method to make an integral preformed unit of kitchen cover and rear splash, which can be easily installed. These and other needs in the art will be apparent to those experts in the field after reviewing this specification, including its drawings and claims.

BRIEF DESC RI PC OF THE I NVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a preformed integral cover unit for kitchen and back splash, which can be easily installed. It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for making an integral preformed kitchen cover and back splash unit, which can be easily installed. These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art after reviewing this specification, including its drawings and claims. According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method is provided for extruding an article, comprising the step of coextruding a core member and an m em ber decorative surface, wherein the bro mem decorative surface comprising at least two flat decorative surfaces, and where each of the flat decorative surfaces is oriented in different planes. According to another method of the present invention, there is provided a method for forming a bar and rear splash cover unit. The method generally includes coextruding a core member and a decorative surface member to form the unit. In the final unit, the decorative surface member forms both the flat bar covering decorative surface and the flat rear splash decorative surface., said bar covering and rear splash surfaces are oriented in different planes. According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an extruded article comprising a core member and a decorative surface member, wherein the decorative surface member comprises at least two flat decorative surfaces, and wherein each of the Flat decorative surfaces are oriented in different planes. According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, an extruded kitchen cover and rear splash unit is provided. The unit generally includes a coextruded and decorative surface core member. The decorative surface forms the decorative surface of flat bar cover and the decorative surface of flat rear splash, with the bar covering and the rear splash oriented in different planes. These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the specification, including drawings and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a graph of density versus weight percentage of blowing agent as discussed in Example 2. Figure 2 is a graph of thermal expansion for various compositions as discussed in Example 2.

Figure 3 is a plot of tensile strain versus weight percentage of blowing agent as discussed in Example 2. Figure 4 is a graph of flexural strength versus weight percentage of blowing agent as discussed in Example 2. Figures 5-9 are graphs of shear viscosity of record versus register shear rate for several samples as discussed in Example 3. Figures 10 and 12 are side and isometric views, respectively, of a embodiment of the integral bar / back splash cover unit 100 of the present invention showing the decorative surface member 5 and the core member 7, the flat rear splash 10 oriented at an angle? from the flat bar cover 20, which is oriented at an angle F from the flat front lip 30. Figure 11 is a side view of an integral rear bar / splash coverage 101, a slight variation in coverage bar 100 of Figures 10 and 12, showing the decorative surface member 5 and the core member 7, the flat rear splash 10 oriented at an angle? from the flat bar cover 20, which is oriented at an angle F from the flat front lip 30, and showing the flat rear splash lip 11 oriented at an angle β from the rear splash 10. Figure 13 is a view lateral of the integral backsplash / rod coverage 102, a slight variation of the rod coverage 100 of Figures 10 and 12, showing the decorative surface member 5 and the core member 7, the flat rear splash 10 oriented to a angle? from the flat bar cover 20. FIG. 14 is a side view of the integral rear bar / splash coverage 101, a slight variation of the bar cover 100 of FIGS. 10 and 12, showing the decorative surface member 5 and the core member 7, is the flat rear splash 10 oriented at an angle? from the flat bar cover 20, which is oriented at an angle F from the flat front lip 30, showing the flat rear splash lip 11 oriented at an angle β from the rear splash 10, and showing the lip support flat front 31 oriented at an angle ß from the front lip 30.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The method of the present invention generally includes the coextrusion of a core member and a decorative surface member in the desired shape. Optional layers can be inserted between the core member and the decorative surface member. In the rear part of the core member, or in the decorative surface member. It should be understood that the backing layers or underlying layers can be co-extruded with the core member and the decorative surface member, or applied after the extrusion step by any of the suitable methods. The present invention is useful for forming integral units that have surfaces in various geometric planes. For example, the present invention is useful for making an integral prefabricated unit of bar cover for kitchen and rear splash, wherein the bar cover and the rear splash are in different geometric planes, that is, generally oriented at 90 ° with respect to at each other. In addition, the front edge of the bar cover can have a lip oriented generally at 90 ° relative to the bar coverage. For example, referring now to Figs. 1 0 and 12, side and isometric views, respectively, of an embodiment of the integral rear bar / splash cover unit 1 00 of the present invention are shown., showing the decorative surface member 5 and the core member 7, the flat rear splash 1 0 oriented at an angle? from the flat bar cover 20, which is oriented at an angle F from the flat front lip 30. As another embodiment, Figure 1 1 shows a side view of the integral rear bar / splash coverage 101, which is a slight variation of the bar coverage 1 00 of Figures 1 0 and 12, showing the decorative surface member 5 and the core member 7, the flat rear splash 10 oriented at an angle? from the flat bar cover 20, which is oriented at an angle F from the flat front lip 30, and showing the flat rear splash lip 11 oriented at an angle β from the rear splash 10. As another embodiment more, in Figure 13 there is shown a side view of the integral backsplash / rod coverage 102, which is a slight variation of the rod coverage 100 of Figures 10 and 12, showing the decorative surface member 5 and the member of core 7, the flat rear splash 10 oriented at an angle? from the flat bar coverage 20. As another embodiment, in Figure 14 a side view of the integral bar / splash coverage 101 is shown, which is a slight variation of the bar coverage 100 of Figures 10 and 12, showing the flat rear splash 10 oriented at an angle? from the flat bar cover 20, which is oriented at an angle F from the flat front lip 30, showing the decorative surface member 5 and the core member 7, the flat rear splash lip 11 oriented to a angle ß from the rear splash 10, and showing the front flat lip support 31 oriented at an angle a from the front lip 30. In the above embodiments, the angles, ß,? and F can be any desired angle needed to form the desired configuration of the unit. In most cases, the bar cover and rear splash are oriented approximately 90 ° relative to each other, but you may experience cases where you want to "recline" (or tilt) the rear splash either away from or towards the bar coverage. In most cases, these angles a, ß,? and F will be on the scale of about 40 ° to about 140 °, preferably on the scale of about 60 ° to 120 °, preferably on the scale of about 80 ° to about 100 °, most preferably on the scale of about 85 °. at about 95 °, and still most preferably around 90 °. If the unit is formed through coextrusion, the preferred method, each of the decorative surfaces will be oriented in the direction of the machine, and of course, parallel to each other. G.

Decorative Surface Member The decorative surface member may comprise any suitable thermoplastic, which is suitable for use as a solid surface forming member. Preferably, the decorative surface member of the present invention will comprise a polyacrylic. Suitable polyacrylics include those commercially used to make solid surface materials such as Gilbralter® solid surface materials available from Wilsonart International, Inc. of Temple, Texas. Other suitable plastic-based surface-forming compositions include those described in the U.S.A. Nos. 4,085,246, 4,458,039, 4,533,680, 4,938,825 and 5,318,737, incorporated herein by reference. It is known in the art to use fillers with plastic surface forming compositions. Thus, in the present invention the decorative surface member may comprise one or more fillers as is well known to those skilled in the art, in order to obtain the desired physical properties. Fillers suitable for use with the decorative surface forming material include acid acceptors, antiblock agents, antistatic agents, antioxidants, blowing agents, crystallization aids, dyes, Hamas retardants, fillers, impact modifiers, mold release agents. , oils, other polymers, pigments, processing agents, reinforcing agents, slip agents, stabilizers, UV resistance agents and the like. Preferred fillers include calcium carbonate, talc, silica, glass fibers, alumina and wollastonite, with calcium carbonate and wollastonite being most preferred, and wollastonite being very preferred. Fillers suitable for use with the decorative surface forming material also include fillers treated on its surface. Most preferably, the filler is a surface treated with calcium carbonate. Non-limiting examples of reinforcing agents include inorganic or organic high molecular weight products, including glass fiber, asbestos, boron fibers, carbon and graphite fibers, metal oxide fibers, quartz and silica fibers, and synthetic organic fibers.

When such conventional ingredients are used, they will generally be present on a scale from about 0.01 to about 50% by weight of the total weight of the decorative surface forming moulder, preferably on the scale of about 1 to 25% by weight of the weight total of the decorative member.

The Nucleus Member The core member of the present invention can be prepared from any suitable extrudable thermoplastic, provided that it has the structural and mechanical properties necessary for the desired end use. In particular, it is preferred that the substrate has a commutative group that is approximately equal to or better than medium or high density cardboard fiber or particleboard (where compression fixation is measured in accordance with ASTM F970, a as the thickness is reduced as a function of compression tension). Preferably, this thickness reduction at 140.6 kg / cm2 is at most 0.0254 cm, preferably at most 0.0127 cm and most preferably at most 0.00254 cm. Preferably, the core member comprises one or more members selected from the group consisting of poly (acrylonitrile / butadiene / styrene) resins (hereinafter referred to as ABS) such as flame retardant ABS resins and resins of ABS filled with glass; polycarbonate; high impact polystyrene (H I PS), polystyrene, polyphenylene oxide (PPO), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The polymer can be a virgin polymer or a recirculated polymer. Preferably, the core member is prepared from a crushed resin system containing, but not limited to,, one or more of the polymers listed above. In addition, these polymers can be filled or unfilled, although from a point of view of impact resistance and physical property, filled polymers are better. In a highly preferred embodiment, the polymer is obtained from formed plastic covers and parts of electronic equipment, such as computers, printers, televisions, stereos, etc. This reformed plastic is obtained through the removal of all metals substantially of ferrous base or other non-plastic parts of the electronic equipment, followed by the granulation of the plastic. Within the context of the present invention, the term "substantially" means >95% of the original amount of the ferrous base metals and other non-plastic parts in the electronic equipment, preferably > 99% of the original amount. The reformed plastic is usually a mixture of two or more of the preferred polymers previously observed, with 50% or more, preferably 75% or more, being ABS, with or without flame retardants or glass fillers. The polymer used to prepare the core member of the present invention can be formed as a foam using any conventional blowing agent, such as exothermic blowing agents, endothermic blowing agents or combinations thereof, provided the cell size of the foam can be adjusted to provide the structural and mechanical properties required in the desired end use. The preparation of foam polymers is known in the art and is described in, for example, the above citation from Kirk Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology and "Handbook of Polymeric Foams and Foam Technology". Preferred exothermic blowing agents include azodicarbonamide blowing agents. Exothermic blowing agents tend to provide a larger cell size in the foam produced than endothermic blowing agents. A preferred endothermic blowing agent is a combination of calcium carbonate (or bicarbonate) or carboxylic acid. Suitable carboxylic acids are known in the foam manufacturing art and should be able to help initiate the formation of CO2 from carbonate or calcium bicarbonate. Said carboxylic acids include, but are not limited to, acids such as citric acid. In high load end uses, such as laminate flooring, the use of only an exothermic blowing agent tends to provide a foam with insufficient resistance to compression, due to oversized cells. Although the use of an endothermic blowing agent only requires larger amounts of the blowing agent (thus increasing the costs of materials and processing), without the ability to generate sufficient density reduction to reduce the total weight of the foam to a desired level for the handling capacity. Thus, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the blowing agent is a combination of an exothermic blowing agent and an endothermic blowing agent. In particular, the preferred blowing agent is a combination of a blowing agent of azodicarbonamide and CaCO3 (or bicarbonate) / carboxylic acid. The determination of the amount of blowing agent required and the ratio of endothermic / exothermic blowing agents is within the skill of one skilled in the art of polymer foam preparation and depends on the desired final foam properties. Preferably, the blowing agent is used in an amount of up to 3% of the polymer, most preferably from 1 to 2% by weight of the polymer. The polymer for the core member can be used alone or with fillers, in order to obtain the desired physical properties. Fillers suitable for use with the core member include acid acceptors, antiblock agents, antistatic agents, antioxidants, blowing agents, crystallization aids, dyes, flame retardants, fillers, impact modifiers, mold release agents, oils, other polymers, pigments, processing agents, reinforcing agents, glidants, stabilizers, UV and similar resistance agents. Preferred fillers include calcium carbonate, talc, silica, glass fibers, alumina and wollastonite, calcium carbonate and wollastonite being one of the preferred ones, and the preferred one being calcium carbonate. Fillers suitable for use with the core moulder also include surface-treated fillers. Very preferably, the filler is surface treated calcium carbonate. Non-limiting examples of reinforcing agents include inorganic or organic high molecular weight products, including glass fiber, asbestos, boron fibers, carbon and graphite fibers, metal oxide fibers, quartz and silica fibers, and synthetic organic fibers. When such conventional ingredients are used, they will generally be present on a scale from about 0.01 to about 50% by weight of the total weight of the core member, preferably on the scale of about 1 to about 25% by weight of the total weight of the core. Core member Optional Layers Additional optional layers can be inserted between the core member and the decorative surface member, on the back side of the core member, or on the decorative surface member. It should be understood that backing layers or underlying layers can be co-extruded with the core and decorative surface members, or they can be applied after the extrusion step through any of the suitable methods.

An additional layer of preferred interest includes an optical barrier layer coextruded between the core member and the decorative surface member to reduce or prevent the surface characteristics of the core member from bleeding through or showing through the surface decorative Resins suitable for use in the manufacture of said optical barrier layer include, but are not limited to, thermoplastic acrylic polymers, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) copolymers, p-vinylinyl chloride (PVC), acrylonitrile-styrene- acrylates (ASA), styrene-acrylonitriles (SAN), and polycarbonates (PC).

EXAMPLES The following examples are provided merely to illustrate the present invention and do not limit the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Example 1 Several of the ingredients listed in Table 1 were combined in samples as listed in Tables 2 and 3. Before use, the ABS was dried, either in a desiccant dryer for 2 hours at 80 ° C or in a hot air oven for 4 hours at 80 ° C. Using a twin screw extruder, 5 sheets (having the dimensions of 0.250 millimicres in thickness, 6.35 cm in width and 121.92 cm in length) were extruded from each of these samples. TABLE 1 TABLE 2 TABLE 3 Example 2 The extruded sheets of Example 1 were subjected to several tests as follows: (1) Density, (2) Ash-% filler, (3) Thermal expansion, (4) Traction, and ( 5) Flexion. The results are given in Tables 4, 5, 6 and 7, and in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Material Characteristics The test results show that variations in the requested filler load can affect the physical properties. Even with this phenomenon, the density of the material when the blowing agent was applied remained as < . 1 g / cm2 Referring now to Figure 1, it appears that above 1% by weight of blowing agent, the density remains relatively constant for filler loads of 5 to 20% by weight. See Tables 4 and 5 and Figure 1.

Thermal Expansion The present invention should be useful for extruding a plastic substrate and the surface forming product in a combined rod covering unit. With this in mind, both the substrate and the surface-forming material must have relatively narrow physical characteristics. For example, to minimize the possibility of delamination, the thermal expansion of the plastic substrate and the surface-forming product should be relatively close. Referring now to Figure 2, the thermal expansion of the ABS substrate (filled or unfilled) is approximately 2 V times larger than the same surface-forming material. Even with a 20% filler in the ABS substrate, the reduction in thermal expansion was minimal. See Table 4, and Figure 2.

Resistance to Fraction and Flexion The physical strength and hardening of the various substrates of ABS were evaluated in a traction and bending mode. At a load of 10% -20% filler with 1 -3% blowing agent, the tensile strength is relatively constant through the cardboard. See Tables 4 and 6, and Figure 3. The data on bending were obtained using an Instron test apparatus (90.8 kg of cell load and small scale 3-point bending aspect). For the accuracy of data entry, calculations such as 1% of relaxation deviations were introduced for the confirmation of the values. These deviation values of 1% subsequently show little or no difference compared to the initial relaxation point values. Deviations and standards and the coefficient of variation values are listed for verification. When testing the various forms of ABS, it seems that these formulations were tremendously elastic in a 3-point bending mode. The break point values were not evident due to the extreme flexibility of the ABS polymer even with a filler load of 20%, therefore, relax point values were used. For any given formulation, the flexural strength varies slightly on the 1-3% scale of blowing agent. See Tables 4 and 7, and Figure 4 TABLE 4 ro ro ro ro ro 4 = > r cn TABLE 5 Density (g / ccm) TABLE 6 Breakthrough Point of Tensile Strength (5) TABLE 7 Flexion Resistance Relaxation Point (5 > Example 3 Samples 1, 7, 8, 9 and 10 of Example 1 were subjected to rheology analysis through capillary rheometry at 200 ° C. A plot of the shear viscosity record versus the shear rate record and a given energy law equation was generated. See Figure 5-9, and Table 8.

TABLE 8 Although the present invention has been illustrated primarily with reference to a back bar and back splash unit for kitchen, it should be understood that it has utility in any application where it is desired to have an article with two or more decorative surfaces in different planes. Non-limiting examples of such applications include modules for construction, furniture and bathroom furniture and articles. Although the illustrative embodiments of the invention have been described with particularity, it will be understood that several other modifications will be apparent and can be readily made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the claims is not intended to be limited to the examples and descriptions set forth herein, but rather the claims are constructed to encompass all aspects of patentable novelty they receive in the present invention, including all features which could be treated as their equivalents by those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains.

Claims (8)

1. CLAIMS 1. - A method comprising coextruding a core member and a decorative surface member to form an article, wherein in the article, the decorative surface member comprises at least two flat decorative surfaces and wherein each of the decorative flat surfaces they are oriented in different planes.
2. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein an optical barrier layer is co-extruded between the decorative surface member and the core member.
3. 3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising applying an underlying layer to the decorative surface member or a backing layer to the core member.
4. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the flat decorative surfaces are oriented relative to one another at an angle of? on the scale of about 40 ° to about 140 °.
5. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the article comprises first, second and third flat decorative surfaces, wherein each of the flat decorative surfaces are oriented in different planes, wherein the first flat decorative surface is oriented in relation to the second flat surface at an angle of? on the scale of about 40 ° to about 140 °, and the second flat decorative surface is oriented relative to the third flat surface at an angle F on the scale of about 40 ° to about 140 °.
6. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the first, second and third decorative surfaces are parallel to each other.
7. 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the core member comprises one or more polymers selected from the group consisting of poly (acrylonitrile / butadiene / styrene) polymers, polycarbonate, high impact polystyrene, polystyrene , polyphenylene oxide (PPO), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and the decorative surface member comprises a polyacrylic.
8. 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the core member and the decorative surface member each comprise one or more fillers independently selected from the group consisting of acid acceptors, antiblocking agents, antistatic agents, antioxidants, agents blowing, crystallization aids, dyes, flame retardants, fillers, impact modifiers, mold release agents, oils, other polymers, pigments, processing agents, reinforcing agents, slip agents, stabilizers of resistance agents UV 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the core member comprises poly (acrylonitrile / butadiene / styrene), calcium carbonate and blowing agents, and the decorative surface forming member comprises a polyacrylic. 10.- A method to form a unit of bar and rear splash cover, the method comprises: coextru ir ur. core member and a decorative surface member to form l = > unit, wherein in the unit the decorative surface member comprises a decorative flat bar covering surface and a decorative flat back spatter surface, and wherein the bar cover and the rear splash are oriented in different planes. The method according to claim 10, wherein an optical barrier layer is co-extruded between the decorative surface member and the core member. 12. The method according to claim 10, further comprising applying an underlying layer to the decorative surface member or a backing layer to the core member. 13. - The method according to claim 10, wherein the flat decorative surfaces are oriented relative to one another at an angle? on the scale of about 80 ° to about 100 °. 14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the article comprises first, second and third flat decorative surfaces, wherein each of the flat decorative surfaces is oriented in different planes, wherein the first decorative surface plan is oriented in relation to the second flat surface at an angle ? on the scale from about 85 ° to about 95 °, and the second flat decorative surface is oriented relative to the third flat surface at an angle F on the scale of about 85 ° to about 95 °. 15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the core member comprises poly (acrylonitrile / butadiene / styrene), calcium carbonate and blowing agents, and the decorative surface forming member comprises a polyacrylic. 16. An extruded article comprising a core member and a decorative surface member, wherein the decorative surface member comprises at least two flat decorative surfaces, and wherein each of the flat decorative surfaces is oriented in different planes. 17. The extruded article according to claim 16, wherein an optical barrier layer is co-extruded between the decorative surface member and the core member. 18. The extruded article according to claim 16, further comprising an underlying layer on the decorative surface member or a backing layer on the core member. 19. The extruded article according to claim 16, wherein the flat decorative surfaces are oriented relative to one another at an angle of? on the scale from about 60 ° to about 120 °. 20. The extruded article according to claim 16, wherein the article comprises first, second and third flat decorative surfaces, wherein each of the flat decorative surfaces is oriented in different planes, wherein the first flat decorative surface is oriented relative to the second flat surface at an angle? on the scale from about 60 ° to about 120 °, and the second flat decorative surface is oriented relative to the third flat surface at an angle F on the scale of about 60 ° to about 120 °. 21. The extruded article according to claim 20, wherein the first, second and third decorative surfaces are parallel to each other. 22. The extruded article according to claim 16, wherein the core member comprises one or more polymers selected from the group of polymers consisting of poly (acrylonitrile / butadiene / styrene), polycarbonate, high impact polystyrene, polystyrene, polyphenylene oxide (PPO), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and the decorative surface member comprises a polyacrylic. 23. The extruded article according to claim 22, wherein the core member and the decorative surface member each comprise one of several fillers independently selected from the group of fillers consisting of acid acceptors, antiblocking agents, antistatic agents , antioxidants, blowing agents, crystallization aids, dyes, flame retardants, fillers, impact modifiers, mold release agents, oils, other polymers, pigments, processing agents, reinforcing agents, slip agents, stabilizers and UV resistance agents. 24. The extruded article according to claim 16, wherein the core member comprises poly (acrylonitrile / butadiene / styrene), calcium carbonate and a blowing agent, and the decorative surface forming member comprises a polyacrylic. 25. An extruded unit of bar cover for kitchen and rear splash, comprising a coextruded core member and a decorative surface member, wherein the decorative surface member comprises a decorative surface of flat bar cover and a Decorative flat back splash surface, and where the bar coverage and rear splash are oriented in different planes. 26. The co-extruded unit according to claim 25, wherein an optical barrier layer is coextruded between the decorative surface member and the core member.